A sudden downpour turned into a life-changing moment for a woman in Yunnan, China, after she stepped into a lottery shop to escape the rain and walked out a millionaire.
On August 8, the unidentified woman from Yuxi’s Hongta District sought shelter in the shop and, on a whim, asked the store owner: “Do you have scratch cards here? Since I am stuck in the rain, I might as well play a little.”
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She decided to purchase a full booklet of around 30 tickets, each priced at 30 yuan (approx. RM18), spending 900 yuan (approx. RM530), South China Morning Post reported.
To her astonishment, the sixth ticket revealed a grand prize of one million yuan (RM588,473).
“My hands and legs went weak. I never imagined this even in my dreams. Maybe it is because water brings prosperity,” she recalled.
The winnings were confirmed and processed through standard lottery claim procedures, the shop owner said.
The woman later explained in an interview with Jiupai News on August 11 that she occasionally plays scratch cards and had just finished lunch when the rain began.
The store was also running a promotion that day: “Spend 50 yuan (RM29.54), get 20 free; spend 1,000 yuan (RM590.80), get 1,000 free,” which encouraged her to buy the entire booklet.
Out of gratitude, she gave the shop owner a red envelope filled with cash and a silk banner. Despite the windfall, she chose to stay low profile.
“I often see people winning five or ten million yuan on my feed. Compared to that, mine does not seem like a big deal,” she said, adding that her family advised her not to publicise the win.
“One million is not much. I did not post about it. I just went back to work as usual. I do not dare to lie flat or be lazy,” she added.
The story quickly spread online, where many drew links to the Chinese saying that “encountering water brings fortune.”
One user wrote: “The rain must have been sent by the God of Wealth!” while another joked: “If rain brings fortune, I am heading straight to a lottery shop the next time it pours!”
A third added: “This is heavenly luck. I am also trying this the next time it rains.”